News Releases

Missouri reports a second death related to Listeriosis infection

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today notified the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) of one additional confirmed case of Listeriosis in Missouri associated with the national recall of cantaloupe produced by Jensen Farms, of Holly, Colo.

A total of six Listeriosis cases in Missouri have been confirmed by the CDC as linked to the recalled cantaloupe. The latest case is the second to occur in the Southwest District. The individual, age 84, has died. According local medical officials, the immediate cause of death was sepsis with Listeriosis as a contributing factor. The other cases include three in the Northwest District, one in the Eastern and two in the Southwest District. All six cases were hospitalized. On September 21, DHSS reported one individual, age 94, died. According to local medical officials, the immediate cause of death was not the Listeriosis infection.

The whole cantaloupe in question were shipped nationwide between July 29 and Sept. 10, 2011. The whole cantaloupe have a green and white sticker that reads: Product of USA- Frontera Produce-Colorado Fresh-Rocky Ford-Cantaloupe, or a gray, yellow, and green sticker that reads: Jensen Farms-Sweet Rocky Fords. If the whole cantaloupe is unlabeled, please contact your retail store for sourcing information. Consumers who may have one of these cantaloupe should throw it away.

State and local health officials across Missouri continue to search for additional contaminated cantaloupe still for sale, but at this point have not found any of the contaminated product still on the shelves.